Not Giving Up
by shialuvr222
Summary: Under normal circumstances, he would laugh in the face of anyone who suggested what he was about to do. But these were hardly normal circumstances.


A/N: Awesome band (Rise Against). Awesome song (Help Is On The Way). Couldn't resist. Need I say more?

Disclaimer: I don't own Help Is On The Way, NCIS, Tim, Abby, Gibbs, Tony, Ziva or the name Avenger. Although, I'm not really sure anyone owns the name Avenger. Please enjoy instead of suing me.

_I had my mother's dreams  
>I had my father's eyes<br>You can't take that from me  
>Just go ahead and try<em>

Heat waves come up from the pier, but you don't notice. This could be a trap, but they threatened Abby. You aren't messing around.

You run past the business division and into the private section of the marina. You draw your weapon, completely alert. The boat is pulling away from the dock. You were only a minute late, but apparently that was too long for them to wait.

You're desperate. You know these are ruthless people; they'll probably kill her and dump her body somewhere in the Atlantic. Then a crazy idea enters your mind.

_The crescent city sleeps  
>While giants in the sky<br>Preparing to unleash  
>Let loose a mighty cry<em>

Under normal circumstances, you would laugh in the face of anyone who suggested what you're about to do. But these are hardly normal circumstances.

The boat is only a couple of feet away from the pier. You take a few steps back, tucking your weapon away, and run, launching yourself off the pier. You collide hard, and it knocks the wind out of you.

At first, you can hardly hold on. But the thought of her in danger pushes you on. You scramble up and onto the boat, but not before taking a moment to glance at the name painted on the side. _Avenger._

_Can nobody save us?  
>Will anyone try?<br>The pyre is burning  
>The severance has died<br>And all along, they're saying_

There are two men on deck. One reaches you before you can react, grabbing your arm and pulling back his own to punch you. You duck, yanking yourself from his grasp and sending him reeling. You toss him off the boat, hearing him land in the water, and hit the other with the butt of your gun as he approaches.

Looking around, you spot the hatch. You don't have time to hide, though, as it swings open. The man exiting spots you immediately, and you have no choice but to shoot him as he reaches for his own firearm. It doesn't take long for reinforcements to approach, having heard the gunshot. You fire again, this time at the engine.

Then, you hear her scream.

_Help is on the way  
>Help is on the way<br>Hold my hand  
>To the sea<br>Right there in front of me  
>Help is on the way<em>

You fight back the panic. You hear her again. But as footsteps resound up the steps towards the hatch, you realize that the voice isn't coming from the boat. You look back at the docks. There she is, standing there, screaming at you. She wants you to get out.

Before you can jump off the boat, you hear a shot. Then you don't have to jump. You're already falling.

The water is warm, and rapidly turning from gray to red. You aren't sure from the suppressed sound, but you think another voice has joined hers. Then you hear a splash.

_Five thousand feet below  
>As smoke engulfs the sky<br>The ocean floor explodes  
>Eleven mothers cry<em>

You're struggling against the water and the pain, but there's so much of both. You see something dark moving towards you - nothing is clear, with the crimson liquid swirling around you - but it soon reveals itself to be a person. Tony. He pulls you up and out of the water, not stopping to breathe, and hauls you onto the pier. You gasp.

Then Abby fills your vision, her face beyond worried and her voice bordering on hysteric. Tony mumbles something to her, though you don't hear what, and she takes a deep breath. You look up. Smoke begins to fill the air, sending your water-filled lungs into a bout of coughing.

After a moment, you can breathe again. You realize Tony is gone, and then the gunshots register. They're open targets. Abby needs to find cover.

"A-Abby," you wheeze, "Find...somewhere s-safe."

Her eyes flash. "Not on your life."

_My bones all resonate  
>A burning lullaby<br>You can't take that from me  
>Just go ahead and try<em>

You almost smile. You would, if your chest wasn't on fire. You've never been in this much pain.

Yes, you have. Once.

Once, at sixteen years old. When you crashed into a bus. Your right leg has enough steel pins and plates to set off metal detectors at the airport, but that wasn't the worst of it. The worst was the searing metal shoved an inch into your abdomen.

You realize you've gone vacant for a moment, and it's scaring Abby. You don't want to scare Abby. You try to reassure her, but you can't speak. You look sideways at the burning boat.

You don't even hear her when she screams, "Gibbs!"

_She stands at the shoreline  
>With hands in the air<br>Her words miss the dark light  
>Does anyone care?<br>And all along they're saying_

The pier shakes, and with increasing difficulty, you turn your head. Your eyes are blurring, but you think the figure making it's way over to you is Gibbs. Have the shots stopped? You don't know.

Abby looks frantic as she says things you can't hear and gestures to ends you can't understand. Has someone hurt her? Why is she so upset?

In a brief moment of clarity, you know what is happening. You've lost so much blood that your brain has begun to slow. You can no longer hear, probably because of the water, and your sight is giving out.

Abby is upset because she thinks you're going to die.

_Help is on the way  
>Help is on the way<br>Hold my hand  
>To the sea<br>Right there in front of me  
>Help is on the way<em>

Gibbs is putting pressure on your chest. You want him to stop; that seems to make the pain worse. You try to tell him, but you forgot how. You try to push him away, but your arms won't obey.

He's telling you something. Whatever it is, it seems important. You doubt you can help him with it, though. Maybe Abby can. She's good at helping.

You're tired. The only command your body respects is the one to close your eyes.

If you were still able to feel, you'd understand that Gibbs just increased the pressure on your injury. But you can't, because everything just melted away. Even the pain.

_Choking on the black gold  
>Upon which we here rely<br>We keep actions in the attic  
>To see the cameras in the sky<br>Help is one the way  
>Help is on the way<em>

If you had been able to hear, you would have known that Gibbs was telling you to hang on. That you would be alright. Not to give up.

You would have seen Abby cling to Tony, sobbing into his shoulder, as he held her just as tightly. Seen him unable to take his eyes off of your still form.

You would have heard the prayer Ziva sent up to her God, smelled the acrid smoke and salt, felt the blood drip from your body onto the pier and through the cracks, into the ocean. You would have known that they cared.

You would have seen how Gibbs refused to give up hope.

_We were told just to sit tight  
>Cause somebody will soon arrive<br>Help is on the way_

If you had been here, you would have remembered everything. How Tony teased you, but was ultimately there to back you up, without fail. Or how Ziva used to defend you when you wouldn't defend yourself. How Abby was your best friend. Even how Gibbs watched out for you, even when you didn't want him to. Always.

But you weren't here. You had gone somewhere else, unknowingly, when you closed your eyes. You would come back, if you knew how.

_But they never came  
>They never came<em>

But as you drift away, something stops you. One simple sentence breaks through to your previously deaf ears.

"I'm not giving up on you, McGee."

Not giving up.

You aren't awake. You're fighting an unconscious battle.

But you're alive.

_Help is on the way  
>Help is on the way<br>Hold my hand  
>To the sea<br>Right there in front of me  
>Help is on the way<em>

If you were here, you would have seen Gibbs' small smile as he felt the pulse restart in your veins. Or heard the sirens blaring as they approached. Or felt the paramedics lift you onto a gurney and carry you to the ambulance.

_Help is on the way..._

A/N: Well? Yes? No? I don't know if you don't review!


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